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Da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgical System Adds New Arms To Urology Field At SoutheastHEALTH

SoutheastHEALTH

SoutheastHEALTH added a new robotic surgical system to their Urology field. They’re the first hospital in the region to implement the Da Vinci Xi Surgical System. It’s the third and newest generation of its kind by Intuitive Surgical. This is also the second Da Vinci Xi system in Missouri to be used in a community-based hospital setting.

 

The Da Vinci Xi performs minimally invasive surgical procedures, resulting in less need for pain medication, fewer complications, smaller incisions, and a faster recovery time for patients.

 

Dr. Greg Hallman, a urologist at Southeast Hospital, said the system operates in multiple areas of the abdominal and pelvic cavities, and allows them to operate intricately in ways they couldn’t without the system.

 

“We’ve got high-definition, three-dimensional visualization of the surgical field with the scope, with tremendous magnification abilities to see the tissues better,” said Hallman.

 

The robotic procedure doesn’t require less operating personnel, and surgeons are still performing the entire operation. A robotic console sends signals, via hand controls, to mechanical arms with surgical instruments attached to them, which are operated by the surgeon.

 

He said the surgical instruments on the robot have wrists just like a human wrist, and they can be manipulated at a console the surgeon operates from.

 

“Whereas in traditional laparoscopic procedures, basically [it’s] a long stick-type instrument that you have to do, at times, very awkward movements externally to get the instruments and the dissection techniques where you want them,” Hallman said.

 

Dr. Hallman has been performing robotic surgeries at Southeast Hospital since 2006, but the new Xi system allows them to bring the latest technology to their patients in the region. The system completed it’s third surgery on Tuesday.